Warcraft

Let’s take a break from Batman and Superman for another epic battle — the Alliance vs. the Horde, aka Warcraft. The international trailer for Duncan Jones’ adaptation of the hit MMORPG has arrived, bringing lots of new footage as the two factions prepare for all-out war, and two races unite to protect their future. Orcs and humans fighting together, mass hysteria, etc.

In the midst of our excitement for all the new superhero movies hitting theaters this year, it’s easy to forget another major blockbuster: Warcraft. The latest TV spot for Duncan Jones’ adaptation of the hit game is action-packed and features some new footage, and while we’re still a bit skeptical of how successfully the series will translate to the big screen, one thing is for certain: at least it looks interesting.

In case you forgot, there’s a Warcraft movie coming out this summer, and a new TV spot to prove it. Duncan Jones’ long-developing Warcraft is finally hitting theaters in just five months, and this new preview offers our best look at some of the characters yet. There’s still lots of action at work, but we finally get up close and personal with a few of the major players in the CG-packed adaptation of the hit game.

Director Duncan Jones dedicated a long time to Warcraft, the upcoming film based on the wildly popular MMORPG. Whether he successfully adapted the long-running PC game into a worthwhile movie remains to be seen, and following last week’s reveal of the first official teaser trailer comes some additional footage via an international TV spot which highlights the film’s interesting species and epic landscapes in short bursts.

I spent my freshman year of college doing three things: I went to class, I watched a lot of Mystery Science Theater 3000, and I played a ton of Warcraft II on my dorm’s then incredibly high-tech high-speed Internet. (Dude, no dial-up modem! Amazing!) That was 1998, and video games and movies have come a long way since then. Warcraft II eventually morphed into World of Warcraft the hugely successful MMORPG. And now Warcraft is coming to movie screens, in what looks to be a hugely scaled movie from Moon and Source Code director Duncan Jones.

It’s been a long road for Duncan Jones’ Warcraft movie — Jones signed on for the ambitious project almost three years ago, and today brings the first actual footage from the epic blockbuster in anticipation of Friday’s full trailer. Although brief, the teaser is a bit more revealing than most of its annoying “teaser for a teaser trailer” brethren, and given how long we’ve waited to see something from Warcraft, it’s better than nothing at all.

Here’s a hot tip for anyone not currently enjoying gainful employ: now might be a good time to look into opportunities at Legendary Pictures. They’ve had a banner year, with a pair of hits of the “franchise behemoth” and “homegrown original concept” varieties in Jurassic World and Straight Outta Compton, and they released one of the finest pictures of the year just a few weeks ago with Crimson Peak. (They also released Steve Jobs, which made peanuts and drew mixed-to-positive reviews, but we’re trying to draw a narrative here.) And with all this success in the studio’s rearview, they’re still looking ahead to what could be the most successful year in their brief history.

We caught up with Jones to talk about Warcraft, spending almost four years of his professional life on one movie, whether he wants to return to direct any sequels and let him drop some hints about Star Wars.

After years of development and a lot of extensive post-production, Duncan Jones’ Warcraft movie is officially less than a year away. Lucky Comic-Con attendees will probably get to see a trailer this weekend, but those of us at home get a consolation prize: two new posters depicting the human warrior Anduin Lothar and the Orc chieftain Durotan.

The long-awaited Warcraft movie is a little under a year away…and director Duncan Jones thinks that’s just enough time to squeeze in another movie. The man behind Moon and Source Code has spent the better part of five years developing, filming, and editing his adaptation of the beloved video game series, but his fast-and-cheap indie sensibilities still rage within. Can he film his long-gestating passion project while finishing his massive fantasy epic?